Peer-To-Peer Fundraising: A Crucial Part of Your Non-Profit Funding Strategy

If you are unfamiliar with the term “Peer-to-Peer Fundraising” you are not alone. The 2018 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Study conducted by NonProfit PRO reveals that 40 percent of non-profits do not utilize peer-to-peer fundraising because they do not have enough knowledge, while 26 percent of them do not even know what peer-to-peer fundraising is.

Although the term might be unfamiliar, the concept is not. Consider the American Cancer Society’s well known Relay for Life, or the Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s. In these successful peer-to-peer fundraising events, the non-profit creates an event, recruits volunteers to raise the funds, and provides a link to fundraising software.

While the most common events are walking, running or biking events, other examples include golf-a-thons, dance-a-thons, or any-kind-of-a-thon you can think of. Perhaps you’ve heard of people who raise money for a cause by shaving their beard or jumping out of a plane. These are also examples of peer-to-peer fundraising.

If you have not considered this fundraising strategy yet, you should. Here are three reasons why.

The Multiplication Effect

Simply put, peer-to-peer fundraising is a strategy that leverages your donors’ networks to increase your funding potential. Instead of you asking your network to support your non-profit, you are asking your network to reach out to their network to support your non-profit. The result is exponential exposure as well as exponentially more funding.

You didn’t know it, but your friend Tom has a co-worker, Sarah, who wasn’t aware of your organization. When Tom asked Sarah to pledge money for your event, she immediately thought of her aunt Barb who, she knew, would love to get involved. Now instead of getting a donation from only Tom, through peer-to-peer fundraising you’ve received a donation from Tom, Sarah and her aunt Barb (who also wants to volunteer her time one day a week).

To put it in math terms, traditional fundraising is addition, while peer-to-peer fundraising is multiplication. If you can multiply your funds instead of merely adding to them, why wouldn’t you?

Ownership: A Powerful Weapon

When your volunteers raise funds for your event, they are given the responsibility to recruit others to join your cause. They will set a goal to raise (much larger than what they would have donated individually) and communicate the purpose of your organization to their friends, acquaintances, and perhaps even strangers. Now that you have given them responsibility and a goal, your volunteers become emotionally involved with your purpose and the outcome of the event. You’ve given them a sense of ownership and unleashed unlimited potential for donations.

Legendary women’s basketball coach Pat Summit put it this way, “Responsibility equals accountability equals ownership. And a sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon a team or organization can have.”

Freedom to Pursue Your Purpose

While your volunteers raise funds for your event, you are able to concentrate more time on your non-profit’s purpose. Let’s face it, you got into your non-profit work because of your passion for rescuing animals, or victims of human trafficking, or mission work, or fill-in-your-blank. You did not get into this work because you enjoy asking people to donate money. Yet raising funds is a necessary evil so you can do the good you do. Let your most passionate supporters do the ground work for you through peer-to-peer fundraising and free you up to spend time on what you are really passionate about.

Exponential multiplication of funds, the power of giving your supporters ownership in the fundraising process, and being freed up to do the work you are passionate about. These are three compelling reasons to consider adding peer-to-peer fundraising to your non-profit’s funding strategy. Now that you are convinced, where do you start?

Don’t recreate the wheel. Process Donation has the tools you need to get started. They’ve done the work so you don’t have to. Not only do they provide the secure donation software you need, they also have the marketing tools to make your fundraising event a success.